Army First Lieutenant Thomas Martin

Army First Lieutenant Thomas M. Martin, 27, of Ward, Arkansas, was a sniper platoon leader assigned to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, at Fort Richardson, Alaska. He died on October 14, 2007, in Al Busayifi, Iraq, after insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire during combat operations.

1LT Martin graduated from Cabot High School in Cabot, Arkansas, where he participated in 4-H, band, theater, Key Club and German Club and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. 1LT Martin enlisted in the Army in 1998 and served in Korea before receiving an appointment to the United States Military Academy. After graduating from West Point in 2005, he became an armored cavalry officer, completed the Officer Basic Course and Ranger School and joined the 1-40th Cavalry as a sniper platoon leader.

A family friend remembered 1LT Martin as “very polite and respectful,” with a “wonderful, good-natured personality.” A fellow serviceman commented that he embodied West Point’s values in everything he did: “Duty, Honor, and Country were not just a motto to him but a way of life.”

1LT Martin was survived by his parents, siblings and fiancé.